--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A friend is long sought, hardly found…" description: "\"A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.\" — St. Jerome" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png" --- # A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty… ![“A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.” quote by St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png) > “A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.” [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship requires effort, rarity, and careful maintenance to endure. **In simple terms:** Friends are rare and need work. Key Takeaway Nurture and protect valued friendships. Themes friendship virtue longevity Mood reflective warm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - long‑term relationships - community building Key Concepts trust mutual support Questions to Reflect On - What actions sustain lasting friendships? - How do you balance giving and receiving? A Different Perspective Friendships can be fragile and demanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Difficulty Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty-kept-4168249/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friend Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend-long-786918/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long Sought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-sought-336352/) [Sought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sought/) [Sought Hardly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sought-hardly-4168250/) ## Related quotes > [Possibility-thinking is the long sought-after fountain of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/possibility-thinking-is-the-long-sought-after-fountain-of-youth/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [“The type of person who will always be your friend, for as long as you can stand to keep disappointing her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-type-of-person-who-will-always-be-your-friend-for-as-long-as-you/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“But so long as he had no new policy, so long as he sought only to contain, the enemy without would always hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach/but-so-long-as-he-had-no-new-policy-so-long-as-he-sought-only-to/) [T. R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach/) > [Such has often been my apathy, when objects long sought, and earnestly desired, were placed within my reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/such-has-often-been-my-apathy-when-objects-long-sought-and-earnestly/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I'll be your friend so long as you're not crap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-ll-be-your-friend-so-long-as-you-re-not-crap/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [“With a good friend it’s not always how long you knew them, but how well you did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-gurtler-the-truth-about-us/with-a-good-friend-it-s-not-always-how-long-you-knew-them-but-how/) [Janet Gurtler The Truth About Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-gurtler-the-truth-about-us/) > [I never sought nor gained personal benefit in school or job applications based on my heritage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-never-sought-nor-gained-personal-benefit-in-school-or-job/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Whatever fame came did so not because I sought it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-stafford/whatever-fame-came-did-so-not-because-i-sought-it/) [Jo Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-stafford/) > [I personally claim no special insight into Satan's methods, but I have at times been able to identify his influence and his actions in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/i-personally-claim-no-special-insight-into-satan-s-methods-but-i-have/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [How then is perfection to be sought? Wherein lies our hope? In education, and in nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/how-then-is-perfection-to-be-sought-wherein-lies-our-hope-in/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [I've never sought to leave United.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-pereira/i-ve-never-sought-to-leave-united/) [Andreas Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-pereira/) > [“If you sought to leave the world, don’t go alone. Since there are too many bad people you can take them too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-sought-to-leave-the-world-don-t-go-alone-since-there-are-too/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Love sought is good, but givn unsought is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhaboo/love-sought-is-good-but-givn-unsought-is-better/) [Bhaboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhaboo/) > [The administration of George W. Bush, emboldened by the Sept. 11 attacks and the backing of a Republican Congress, has sought to further extend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-administration-of-george-w-bush-emboldened-by-the-sept-11-attacks/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [“Heal me? You’re trying to heal me by rubbing your…by rubbing against me?” Kat didn’t even try to keep the skepticism out of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-anderson/heal-me-you-re-trying-to-heal-me-by-rubbing-your-by-rubbing-against/) [Evangeline Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-anderson/) ## More by St. Jerome > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [The Roman world is in collapse but we do not bend our neck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/the-roman-world-is-in-collapse-but-we-do-not-bend-our-neck/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [When the stomach is full, it is easy to talk of fasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/when-the-stomach-is-full-it-is-easy-to-talk-of-fasting/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Music to me is a voice, my voice, it's my way of expressing what colours can I bring in, what emotions, what feel. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/music-to-me-is-a-voice-my-voice-it-s-my-way-of-expressing-what/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Everything must have in it a sharp seasoning of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/everything-must-have-in-it-a-sharp-seasoning-of-truth/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [The best advice that I can give you is this: Church-traditions- especially when they do not run counter to the faith- are to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/the-best-advice-that-i-can-give-you-is-this-church-traditions/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Woman is the gate of the devil, the road to iniquity, the sting of the scorpion, in a word, a dangerous species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/woman-is-the-gate-of-the-devil-the-road-to-iniquity-the-sting-of-the/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert for fear that they would collapse on the way, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/if-christ-did-not-want-to-dismiss-the-jews-without-food-in-the-desert/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [For it is good to cleave to God, and to put our hopes in the Lord, so that, when we have exchanged this poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/for-it-is-good-to-cleave-to-god-and-to-put-our-hopes-in-the-lord-so/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [When I could not see the light with my blind eyes, I blamed not my eyes, but the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/when-i-could-not-see-the-light-with-my-blind-eyes-i-blamed-not-my/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Instead of speaking saintly words we must act them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/instead-of-speaking-saintly-words-we-must-act-them/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Honest speech does not seek secret places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/honest-speech-does-not-seek-secret-places/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [It is no fault of Christianity that a hypocrite falls into sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/it-is-no-fault-of-christianity-that-a-hypocrite-falls-into-sin/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [ If you call \[the synagogue\] a brothel, a den of vice, the devil's refuge, Satan's fortress, a place to deprave the soul, an abyss… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/if-you-call-the-synagogue-a-brothel-a-den-of-vice-the-devil-s-refuge/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) [Explore all 136 St. Jerome quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) ## More Difficulty quotes > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [By the time you have no difficulties in your life, you have achieved Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brown/by-the-time-you-have-no-difficulties-in-your-life-you-have-achieved/) [Charles Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brown/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. 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He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [We're also fairly stubborn, I think, fairly independent. We have our share of difficulties with our federal government, although I've tried to as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-miller/we-re-also-fairly-stubborn-i-think-fairly-independent-we-have-our/) [Dan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-miller/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. 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It will take a significant effort and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-pena/i-do-not-underestimate-the-difficulty-of-the-challenge-that-global/) [Federico Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-pena/) [Browse all 3,282 Difficulty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "St. Jerome" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and-with-difficulty-kept/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficulty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and-with-difficulty-kept/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/st-jerome-3227_difficulty_a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and_1285457.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.” — St. Jerome", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "St. Jerome", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A friend is long sought, hardly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and-with-difficulty-kept/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-friend-is-long-sought-hardly-found-and-with-difficulty-kept/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```